Balda Baldessa 1a (~1958)

Balda Baldessa 1a (~1958)

#458

Gentilmente oferecida pelo Daniel. Muito obrigado!

This photo is from the copy I own

History and technical features 

The Baldessa is a range of modestly priced 35mm viewfinder and rangefinder cameras produced by Balda in Germany from c.1957 to the late 1960s.

Baldessas have an unusual folding film advance key in the base - requiring a 180° turn, along with a spring-out rewind crank. On the simpler models, this along with the front-mounted shutter release and the frame counter to the left of the viewfinder ocular leaves the top plate empty except for the accessory shoe. Early models have a removable back; later examples are hinged.

Source: Camera-wiki.org

The Balda Baldessa Ia (or Balda Baldessa 1a) is a 35mm rangefinder camera introduced by Balda Kamera-Werk in 1958, about ten years after founder Max Baldeweg fled Socialist Dresden to reestablish his company in the soon-to-be West German city of B ünde. The Baldessa Ia and its sister model the Ib are basically identical to the original Baldessa I with the addition of a coupled rangefinder. The Baldessa Ib then went a step further by also including a built-in light meter.

Source: vintagecameralab.com



Specifications

he Baldessa 1a was introduced in 1958, and adds a coupled rangefinder to the Baldessa I design. It was available with a Color-Westanar or Baldanar 45/2.8 lens in a Prontor-SVS shutter.

Source: Camera-wiki.org

I love unusual cameras and am happy to say that the Baldessa Ia boasts a number of peculiar design choices. First off, the Baldessa Ia’s top plate is completely barren apart from the cold shoe. Instead, the shutter button (which has a threaded socket for a cable release on its underside) is adjacent to the Baldanar 45mm f/2.8 lens on the front of the camera. Both shutter speed and aperture control rings are on the lens barrel as expected but a black tab has to be pushed in for either of them to move. Most cameras are focused via a ring on the lens barrel but the Baldessa Ia’s designers decided to use a wheel embedded into the body above the shutter button instead. Also on the front are a flash sync socket just off the lens barrel at five o’clock and an accompanying flash mode selector on the lens barrel at nine.

As we move to the camera’s bottom plate, we encounter more eccentricities. The tiny “kickstand” which allows the camera to balance on a flat surface can also be shifted to the “R” position to release the comma-shaped film rewinding lever. Opposite the rewind mechanism is a winding key which, when unfolded, reveals an automatic film counter while advancing the frame with every half turn. In the middle of it all is a tripod socket which also houses a film speed indicator. Last but not least on the list of oddities are the two silver buttons on the user’s right-hand side which can be simultaneously depressed to open the back of the camera.

Source: vintagecameralab.com


Model

Serial number 097513


Reference sites

Camera-wiki.org

vintagecameralab.com


Manual

Balda Baldessa Manual in english

Film

35mm film

Pictures taken with this machine


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